Ahmedinejad and Obama at the UN:
Of statesmanship and political pandering".

For
westerners, and particularly Americans who have watched Iran's President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad up fairly close as he delivers speeches in the US and
elsewhere including during last year's visit to Lebanon, his charisma and
populist connection with the public are evident and often powerful.

And President Barack Obama is normally no
slough either on the stump when he woes voters and inspires them to support his
point of view. But last week's
UN appearance by the two leaders left a Matthew 13:24-30 type image of the
wheat being separated from the chaff.
Both countries are juxtaposed menacingly in the Middle East, one
pressuring the region in an all-out sustained NATO utilized effort to maintain
its hegemony and the other actively trying to lead the region in a very
different direction. Consequently the public was presented with an interesting
contrast in styles and substance.

The
two appearances could be handicapped along the lines that Obama's tough job was
to try to shore up Israel whose days as a dominate force in the Levant rapidly
grow fewer as history corrects the nearly incalculable injustice that resulted
from the West's implantation of the racist state and as history inexorably
deconstructs the world's last 19th Century colonial enterprise.

From
the UN podium, Ahmadinejad knew in advance that approximately 15 minutes into
his speech began AIPAC would signal the launch of its churlish and infantile 30
country walkout and most of the delegations in the audience knew that the White
House had given its ok. The Iranian President also knew that there would be the
pro-Zionist tabloid media blitz against him complete with the now expected
degrading and offensive cartoons and the Persian visitor being labeled in the
US media, what else, but an "anti-Semite", "a clown", "weirdo", "crackpot".
"the new Hitler" and the usual moronic libels.
It is hard to imagine that the New York Times editors actually read his
speech since they not only failed it analyze it but simply dismissed it as a
"tirade" the same description they applied last year.

But
this year, the AIPAC/White House walk-out backfired and it was roundly
condemned not only among the American public but among the publics of each of
the countries that agreed to rudely interrupt the proceedings. The Zionist
controlled US government failed to realize that the international public, like
most Americans, by and large retain respect for the values of open dialogue,
common hospitality and respect for leaders from other countries. Moreover, they understand that the raison
d'etre of the United Nations is to provide its members with an open forum. This includes Iran and each of the 192 other
UN Member States. When Obama spoke the Iranian delegation listened
respectfully.

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OBAMA the compleat politician?

President
Obama, embarrassingly for the American public proved once more his habit of
assuming the role of the groveling US politician for the pariah Israeli UN
Member. This latest speech was no exception and once more Obama made plain that
he will support Israel's continuing occupation of Palestine as a quid pro quo
for the Israeli lobby funding and supporting his 2012 Presidential re-election
bid.

Birzeit University Professor Hanan Ashrawi,
spoke for many in the audience and across America after Obama finished: "I did not believe what I heard. It sounded as if the Palestinians were
occupying Israel. There was no empathy for the Palestinians; he only
spoke of the Israeli problems. He told us that it isn't easy to achieve peace,
thanks, we know this. He spoke about universal rights, Good; those same
rights apply to Palestinians. The White House is applying

enormous
pressure on everybody at the UN and they are using threats and coercion.
I wish they would invest the same energy in an attempt to promote peace, not
threats."

Has Iran have produced a Statesman or a sycophant?

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Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad is at his best when he is engaged in dialogue and debate according
to people in Lebanon and Iran who know him well. But he gets to the point quickly and it
sometimes catches his interlocutors off-guard if they aren't prepared.

Devoutly
religious, Iran's President is unerringly polite and respectful, and never
fails to mention the positive and the necessity of dialogue and seeking common
ground.

But
he speaks frankly and also noted that President Obama never made good on a
pledge to try to improve US-Iranian relations and to open a dialogue with Iran,
and said he still hopes for a face-to-face meeting. "I don't believe that this
is a chance that has been completely lost," Ahmadinejad said.